Case: 14-30078 Document: 00513478630 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/25/2016
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 14-30078 FILED
Summary Calendar April 25, 2016
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
RANDY HUGHES,
Petitioner-Appellant
v.
J. TIM MORGAN, Warden, Winn Correctional Center,
Respondent-Appellee
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Louisiana
USDC No. 2:12-CV-2841
Before SMITH, BENAVIDES, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Randy Hughes, Louisiana prisoner # 117275, appeals the district court’s
dismissal of his 28 U.S.C. § 2254 application challenging his convictions for
attempted distribution of cocaine and possession of cocaine, as well as his
adjudication as an habitual offender and his resulting 20-year sentence. The
only issue properly before this court is whether Martinez v. Ryan, 132 S. Ct.
1309 (2012), can be applied to excuse the procedural default of Hughes’s
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 14-30078 Document: 00513478630 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/25/2016
No. 14-30078
ineffective assistance of counsel claims. See Sonnier v. Johnson, 161 F.3d 941,
946 (5th Cir. 1998). Pro se briefs are afforded liberal construction. Yohey v.
Collins, 985 F.2d 222, 225 (5th Cir. 1993). Nevertheless, it is well settled that
an appellant “abandons all issues not raised and properly presented in [his]
initial brief on appeal.” Banks v. Thaler, 583 F.3d 295, 329 (5th Cir. 2009).
Because Hughes has failed to adequately brief his argument, he has abandoned
the critical issue of this appeal. Accordingly, the district court’s judgment is
AFFIRMED.
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